Track aligning machine



Jan. 26 1932). J. E. Hmm-3v 1,842,670

TRACK ALIGNING MACHINE ilroh 25, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet l NAV v... NfwwVNNvNNN-v wwnv.

Inventor JOHN El) WHRD HKKEY A iloney Jan.. 26, 1932.. .1. E. HlcKl-:Y

TRACK ALIGNING MACHINE Filed March 25, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 A HomeyPatented Jan., 25, 1932 relatie JOHN EDWARD I-IICKEY, OF FALL RIVER,MASSACHUSETTS TRACK ALIGNING MACHINE Application ledMarch 25, 1931.Serial No. 525,286.

The present invention relates to new and useful improvements in machinesfor operating upon railway tracks, and more particularly it pertains toa machine for use in 5 aligning the rails of a railway track.

lt is one oi the objects oi the invention, to provide a machine whichwill replace'or supplant the ordinary track aligning bar, and which willeliminate the laborious oplu eration attendant the use ot said aligninghar.

lt is a further object of the invention so to construct a machine of theaforementioned character that it may be effectively operated le by acomparatively small number of men.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a machine ofthe aforementioned character which is readily portable Y from place toplace, and which may be quickly and easily removed from its operativeposition upon a section olI railway track upon which it is operated.

lt is a still further object of the invention to provide a machine ofthis character which 25 will in no wise damage the rail upon which it isoperating during the process of aligningI the track.

lt is a still further object of the invention so to construct a machineot the aforementioned character to successfully operate the ballasts orperform other operations necessary to the successful operation o1 analigning har, and thus facilitate the aligning operation.

lt is still a Yfurther object of the invention so to construct a machineof this character that the section ot therail being operated upon willnot he ohscured and may he sighted by the person or persons performingthe operation.

lt is a still further object oi the invention so to construct themachine that in `its nuavement over a section ci track to he operatedupon, the supporting wheels of the machine will 'follow the rails of thetrack even though said rails may he out of alignment.

Other objects of the invention will appear as the nature of theinvention is better understood, and for this purpose reference will behad to the accompanying drawings, wherein;

Figure l is a top plan view illustrating diagrammatically a section ofrailway roadbed, illustrating a machine constructed in accordance withthe present invention in place upon the rails of the roadbed, n 1 Figure2 is a view illustrating the machine in end elevation,

Figure 8 is a view illustrating the machine in side elevation,

Figure l is a detail sectional view illu@- trating the manner in whichthe supporting wheels of the machine are mounted,

Figure 5 is a detail elevational view showing a portion ot' the machine,

Figure 6 is a view illustrating the manner in which the machine may beremoved from the rails of a railway roadbed, and;

Figure 7 is a detail perspective view illustrating one of a plurality ofdetachable wheels adapted to be removably secured to the machine tor thepurpose of removing it from the railway roadbed in a lateral direction.t

Referring speciically to the drawings, the ballast oit the roadbed isdesignated B, and the rails of the roadbcd are designated the cross tiesbeing designated C. The rails A; are secured in position upon the crossties C by spikes or the like D, or in any other conventional manner. y

l machine for aligning the rails A and which is constructed inaccordance with the present invention, is designated generally in thedrawings by the reference characterl and this machine includes sideframes lO which have an oi'lset portion ll the purpose of which will behereinafter more specilically described, The side frames l() aresupported by axles or the like 12 which extend through the side frames,at the ends thereof and upon which supporting wheels such as 13 aremounted. These supporting wheels have relatively narrow flanges'and areflanged as indicated at 14 in Figure 4 and have a tread portion 15 whichis adapted for engagement with the tread portion of the ball of therails A. By reference to Figure 4 it will be noted that these supportingwheels 14 are loosely mounted upon the axles 12v and have both .rotary`and `sliding movement on said axles. The wheels 14 are forcedlongitudinally of the axles in one direction by means of a coil springor the like 1G which is mounted between its respective wheel 13 and thepoint where its respective axle passes through the side frames 11 of themach-me and movement of the wheels toward thefree end of the axles 12 isprevented by means of their .respective wheels in engagement with therails upon which the wheels are travelling, and that this constructionoperates to cause the `wheels to follow the .rails at all times. f

,Supporti-ng bars such as extend transversely of thema-chine, 'and inthe resent illustration of the invention three of these barsare shown.iMovable upon the bars, there is a weight or the like 21..-an-'d thebars 20 npass through openings ,in the weight .21 .and thereby providemeans for supporting the weight. -The weight 'is 4adapted for movementlongitudinally of the bars 20 -or transversely of the machine, .and forthe purpose of moving the weight 21, it is provi-ded `with adjustablehandles such as 'designated .22 in the drawings.

Means is provided to receive the impact of the blow ofthe weight 21 and:transmit said impact tothe rail, `and in the present `.embodiment ofthe invention, this means consists of plates .30 fslidably mounted uponthe bars 20. These plates are cut .away Aas lat 31 throughout theirupper portion, and are provided with a projection 32 which when theplates vare in operative position, engage the iside of the ball. of therail Vas best illustrated in Figure 2. y

By this construction itwill be apparent that as the 'weight is movedupon the rods or bars .20, the impact of .the .blow incident to theweight contacting with the plates will be transmit-ted through theplates 30 to the rails, and will cause the entire track structure to .bemoved7 .and this operation is to herepeated from time to time until theproper alignment of the .track .structure being loperated upon isobtained.

As best illustrated in Figures 1 and 3, the side frames are providedwith pockets or the like 35, and these pockets are-preferablyrectangular in shape. In Figure 7 there is shown a supporting wheel ofthe caster type which consists of a wheel member 36 mounted within asuitable yoke 37 having a curved upwardly extending stem 38 which inturn has a `squared end 39 for engagement in the pocket in order thatthe wheels V36 may be mounted on one side or the other of the machine asillustrated in Figure 6.

The wheels 36 just mentioned are employed to support the machine whenthe same is not in position upon the rails of the roadbed, and also forremoving the machine from the rails when it is in position thereon.

In operation-ofthe machine, the weight 21 is moved from side to sidethereof in order to 'impart its force in the desired direction it beingVunderstood that this force is transmitted to 'the rails through theplates 30 as heretofore described. 4

,When it .isfdesired to move the machine ,along the track from onelocation to another, the weight 21 .and the plates 30 .are moved toelevated-position, and `to accomplish this, the rods or bars 20heretofore mentioned vare moved upwardly 'and positioned in recesses inthe upper `edge of the sideframes 'of the machine whichrecesses are bestillustrated in Figure Band this willV support both theu the severalparts are in the proper position for operation upon a rail. The raisingand lowering of the'parts may be accomplished by moving the weight 21 toone end of the rods 20 after which the opposite end of the rods to tha-tupon which the weight is carried are lowered or raised as the case maybe into the dcsired position after which theweight is moved to theopposite ends of therods 2O and those ends from which the weight was ustremoved are manipulated in a similar manner.

When it is-d'esir'ed to remove the machine from a roadway. the weight 21is shifted to Vone side of the machine, and theV opposite side of :themachine is lifted .and the wheels 36 inserted intc'tlheir socketsas-heretofore described after which the weight is then moved to theopposite side of the machine and that side from which the weight wasmoved last is elevated and -after which the device may be rolled fromposition upon the roadbed, or it may be turned directly over end for endin case it is 'necessary to hurriedly remove the machinefrom the trackroadway.

Vhilethe invention has been herein illustrated in what may be termed apreferred form, it is to be understood that the invention is not tobelimited to the Vspecific cont no struction herein shown, but that itmay be carried out in other forms without departing from the spiritthereof.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed. as new, and whatis desired to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

l. n track aligning` machine comprising means movable over the track tobe aligned, track enga-ging means carried thereby, and means forsubjecting said track engaging means to one or more intermittent suddenblows, the impact of which is transmitted to the track.

ik track aligning machine comprising means movable over the track to bealigned, track engaging means carried thereby, and a slidably mountedweight adapted to be moved intermittently into engagement with said a@track engaging means.

A track aligning machine comprising means movable over the track to bealigned, means for subjecting said track to one or more intermittentsudden blows, and means interposed between said last mentioned means andthe track for transmitting the torce of the blows to the track.

a. A track aligning machine comprising a car, means for supporting saidcar upon the track to be aligned, track engaging means carried by saidcar and adjustable into en ,f1/agement with the track to be aligned andimpact producing means movable transversely of the track to be aligned,and into engagement with said track engaging means.

5. A track aligning machine comprising a car movable over a track to bealigned, said car including rotating, and slidably mounted wheels,impact producing means carried by the car, means for transmitting theimpact of said impact producing means to the track to be aligned, andmeans having engagement with said slidably mounted wheels to cause 'thewheels to follow changes in the track to be aligned simultaneously withthe aligning operation.

6. A track aligning machine comprising a car ttor support and movementupon the track to be aligned, a plurality of supporting` rods extendingtransversely of said car, track engaging means carried by saidsupporting rods, and means carried by said supporting rods and movableintermittently into engagement with the track engaging means.

7. A. track aligning machine comprising a car i'or support and movementupon the track to be aligned, side trames for the car, trans rerselyextending rods supported from said side frames. track engaging meanscarried by said rods, means carried by said supporting rods forimparting intermittent blows to said track engaging means, and meanswhereby the track engaging means may be supported out of track engagingposition.

8. d track aligning machine comprising a

